HISTORY PMSS Summary 1944-1945

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 01: HISTORIES
HISTORY PMSS Summary 1944-1945

Sword team, 1945. [nace_1_021b.jpg]

TAGS: History PMSS summary 1944-1945, staff, events, reports, number of students, special days, forest fires, sports, observances, marriage, plays, Roosevelt’s death, folk dancing, speakers, buildings, county school system, co-op store

HISTORY PMSS Summary 1944-1945

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History of the Pine Mountain Settlement School
1944-45

Staff Members:

Stuyvesant (Peter) Barry, Sociology, English
Alice Barry, Seventh-Eighth Grades
Birdena Bishop, Dietitian
Abby Christensen, Folk Dancing
Alice Cobb, Publicity
Edith Cold, English, Library
Ruth Danner, Nurse
Arthur Dodd, Principal, Print Shop
Georgia Dodd, Housemother, West Wind
Grace Feng, Nurse
William Hayes, Farm, Dairy, Poultry
Gladys Hill, Co-op Teacher, Store
Alice Joy Keith, Science, Math Teacher
Helen Kingsbury, Home Economics, Girls Industrial
Dorothy LaRue Nurse (Part-time)
Glenn LaRue, Woodwork, Plant repairs
Josephine Merrill, Housemother, Boys House
Dorothy Nace, Office Secretary
Margaret Nace, Bookkeeper
Burton Rogers, Counselor, Chapel, Community Group
Mary Rogers Civics, Community, Far House Housemother
Grace Rood, Nurse, Community Group
Minerva Sparrow, English, Pine Cone, School House
Edna Spinney, Housemother, Big Log
Dr. Emma Tucker, Doctor, Infirmary (Nov. – Jan.)
Dr. Francis Tucker, Doctor, Community
Flora Willis, Housemother, Far House
Brit Wilder, Maintenance, Transportation
Rev. and Mrs. Baker, Doctor, Infirmary (Nov. – Jan.)
Anna Pishzak, Big Laurel Medical Settlement
Marjorie Robinson, Big Laurel Medical Settlement
H. R. S. Benjamin, Director
Sally Cornett, Laundress
Alice Pennington, Kitchen Assistant
Marbeth Peters, First Cook
Chester Jackson, Miner
Martin Baker, Nightwatchman
Henry Lewis, Fireman, Farm Assistant

No. of students: 100 (Approx.)

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Page 2, 1944-45

Events:

Fair Day returned to its original pattern of exhibits, ballad singing, a softball game, and a movie. Former teacher John Spelman III visited 10 days, including Fair Day.

Mountain Day included the usual hike to the Fire Tower, ice cream, and an evening dancing party.

PMSS boys helped to fight a fire on Line Fork.

Pine Mountain and Red Bird met “half-way” at Beech Fork for an October 21 ball game, which Pine Mountain won for the first time in the Red Bird – Pine Mountain competition.

The success of the Fair Day barbecue led students and workers to contribute money to purchase a pig for barbecue before the traditional Halloween party.

November 11 observance included recognition of 4 former PMSS students who have been killed in action (Bob Creech, Raymond Pennington, Hebert Engel and Hobart Shepherd) as well as the 156 former students represented by stars on the service flag in the living room.

Preparations for the Thanksgiving Ball included prom cards, Home Economics class sewing of dresses, and Miss Christensen’s visit to teach new dances. Since it was Leap Year, girls asked boys to the ball.

The Christmas season had the traditional activities. In February a “Defense Ball” was held, with corsages and boutonnieres made of savings stamps.

Friday, March 9, Miss Grace Feng, foster daughter of the Drs. Tucker, who had worked at PMSS several months over a period of three years, was married to Dr. T. C. Liu. The entire student body and staff were served wedding cake and punch by the Senior Girls at the Laurel House reception,

On April 13 Aunt Sal’s birthday was remembered by a visit to her cabin.

Holy Week was observed by a 15 minute quiet worship period in the Chapel before lunch, with Mr. Dodd playing music and Mr. Benjamin reading Bible verses. On Good Friday classes were dismissed for the afternoon. The choir sang at the Easter morning Chapel service. There was an Easter Egg hunt with 400 hidden eggs on Easter afternoon. Each student’s name was on one egg; the others belonged to whoever found them.

Mrs. Rogers’ Civics class put on a unique and interesting play, outlining the history of…

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Page 3, 1944-45

…books and writing from caveman drawings to the printing press, including the work done by the monks in monasteries.

A memorial service was held in the Chapel the Sunday evening after President Roosevelt’s death.

Girls made new dresses — blouses and broomstick skirts, for May Day. The day was planned like a spring “Community Day,” with visitors and a speaker, in addition to dancing.

Sunday morning, April 15, the seniors served Dogwood Breakfast to the workers on Zande House terrace.

Trips:

Folk dancers participated in a spring Folk Festival at Stuart Robinson School April 20. The Gisburn Processional was done by all the schools, with boys carrying dogwood and girls redbud.

Mr. Wilder drove the seniors (in the truck) to Putney, where they boarded the train for Harlan, to see “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.’

Speakers:

Dr. Willis A. Sutton, former president of the National Education Association, was guest speaker at the May Day – Community Day festivities. Dr. Sutton was sponsored by the Educational Bureau of the Reader’s Digest.

Construction and Maintenance Concerns (From Board Meeting):

Recognition that West Wind design (flat roof, sun deck, unrelieved west exposure to summer sun) has proven unsuitable for Kentucky weather. Mrs. Hook recommended raising the roof and changing its pitch, and extending the roof over the sun deck (incidentally to provide space for 12 or 14 more beds.)

Recommendation that Sun Room at Boys’ Industrial, being used as a sort of plant conservatory, be discontinued as such, the pitch of the roof raised to permit drainage, and the room be used for other purposes.

Minor repairs at extension centers were approved. A serious problem of continuous leakage and inadequate capacity existed at the reservoir. The director was asked to get further recommendations from an engineer and report at the April meeting. There was a continuing urgent need for construction of a new toolhouse.

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Page 4, 1944-45

School:

The Director recommended a plan of cooperation with the county school system. PMSS is to find and house teachers for Creech and Little Laurel Schools, to appoint the Big Laurel teacher who would live at the Medical Settlement, and the Bear Branch teacher who would live at the Line Fork center. The county is to pay salaries, out of which teachers would pay PMSS for board. (Salary for teacher with A. B. degree was $152.50 a month.) It was hoped these arrangements would better handle the 7th and 8th graders who were inadequately served by the effort to have them at Pine Mountain.

Co-op Store:

Total sales for year 1105.21
Net profit 293.73
Distributed to shareholders 284.52

Graduates: 10